Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 822 › Conversation 822-005
Nixon, Walker & Chapin on National Park Service and Congressional relations
Wednesday, December 13, 1972 · 2:57 PM–3:07 PM ET · Oval Office · 10 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with Ronald H. Walker and Dwight L. Chapin to discuss reforming the National Park Service by eliminating special privileges and private facilities previously reserved for members of Congress. Nixon expressed disapproval of the exclusive use of government-maintained properties, such as Coco Lobo, and directed his staff to repurpose these assets for public use as an economy measure. Additionally, the President criticized the agency's lack of promotional support for his administration and emphasized the need for better public relations and the promotion of loyal personnel within the organization.
- National Park Service
- Congressional relations
- Public relations
- Government spending
- Coco Lobo
- Executive authority
Audio
NARA Description
On December 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald H. Walker, Dwight L. Chapin, Stephen B. Bull, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:57 pm to 3:07 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 822-005 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 822-5
Date: December 13, 1972
Time: 2:57 pm – 3:07 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Ronald H. Walker and Dwight L. Chapin. Stephen B. Bull and White
House photographer were present at the beginning of the meeting.
Greetings
[Photograph session]
-Confirmation
National Park Service [NPS]
-Pork barrel programs
-Property
-Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo
-Coco Lobo
-Administration officials
-Members of Congress
-Cuts
-General public
-Members of Congress
-John P. Saylor
-Alan Bible
-George Hartzog
-General public
-Members of Congress
-Special privileges
-Review
-General public
-Congressional relations
-Lowell P. Weicker, Howard H. Baker, Jr.
-Private use
-Special privileges
-Compared to Defense Department -General public
-Public relations [PR]
-Parks program
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
-4-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 822-14 (cont’d)Show the rest of the log (68 more lines)
-Dedications
-Claudia A. (Taylor) (“Lady Bird”) Johnson
-Beautification project
-Press relations
-Hartzog
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Morris K. Udall
-John F. Kennedy
-Departure
-Law firm
-Washington, DC
-Press relations
-Publications
-State conservation and park organizations
-Walker’s visit to NPS
-Hartzog
-Absence of the President’s portrait
-Nathaniel P. Reed
-Reed
-Interior Department
-Promotion of the administration
-Kennedy
-Lyndon Johnson
-Cabinet
-Staff
-Property
-Use by Congressmen
-Coco Lobo
-Staff
-Conversion
-Coco Lobo
-John C. Whitaker
-Rebozo
-Preservation
-Staff
-Boy Scouts of America
-Personnel
-Promotions
-Young people
-Loyalists
-5-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 822-14 (cont’d)
-Congressional relations
-Hartzog
-Law firm
1972 campaign
-Advance work
-Surrogates
-Ontario, California [November 4, 1972]
NPS
-Property
-Cuts
-Staff
-Privileges
-General public
-Compared to elite, numbers of Congressional committees
-Compared to 1972 campaign
-Advance work
-Ontario
Walker and Chapin left at 3:07 pm.Transcript (AI-generated)
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Also recorded on December 13, 1972
- 822-002 2:48 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:48 pm and 2:57 pm.
- 822-003 2:48 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:48 pm and 2:57 pm.
- 822-004 2:48 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:48 pm and 2:57 pm.
- 822-006 3:08 PM · 39 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Anne L. Armstrong, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:08 pm to 3:47 pm.
- 822-007 3:47 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:47 pm and 3:48 pm.
- 822-008 3:48 PM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Edwin S. Cohen, and Lewis A. Engman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:48 pm to 4:13 pm.
- 034-063 4:13 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:13 pm and 4:15 pm.
- 822-009 4:13 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:13 pm and 4:15 pm.
Related conversations
- Nixon phone call with Cole on Revenue sharing and Veto power March 2, 1973 · 7 min
- Nixon, Haldeman & Ehrlichman on Watergate and Executive Privilege March 13, 1973 · 1 hr 27 min
- Nixon phone call with Mitchell on Congressional relations and Moscow summit June 9, 1972 · 27 min
- Nixon, Shultz & Agnew on Federal Budget and Inflation July 21, 1972 · 29 min
- Nixon, Dent & Cabinet officers on Federal budget and Fiscal policy January 24, 1973 · 56 min
- Nixon phone call with Ehrlichman on Railroad legislation and Economic policy August 9, 1972 · 4 min
Cite this conversation
Conversation 822-005, December 13, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417182059). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/822-005 (accessed November 15, 2026).